Ostalo
POLITICAL CORRUPTION – A THREAT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY OFT HE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
Matea Maleš
orcid.org/0009-0003-5490-593X
; Oružane snage Republike Hrvatske
Sažetak
This paper analyzes political corruption as a threat to national security in the case of the Republic of Croatia. Corruption, political corruption, and national security are terms that do not have a single defined meaning, and there is no consensus among authors on a unanimous definition of the term. It is a fact that political corruption is a social phenomenon that destructively affects the stability of society, and national security is a precondition for the survival of society. The focus of this paper is the case of the Republic of Croatia, where there is a continuous high perception of corruption, citizens are losing trust in weakened state institutions, the rule of law is weakened, public resources are diverted for private interests, and corruption scandals involving political elites are exposed daily. Croatian society suffers a series of consequences affecting moral values, trust, and cooperation within society, the integrity of institutions that provide services to citizens and represent the normal functioning of society, or social organization. The applied method is a case study aiming to explore the complexity of the phenomenon of political corruption in Croatia through data from sources such as Transparency International and GRECO (Group of States against Corruption), media articles, and previous expertise. An analysis of documents was also conducted, encompassing national strategic documents in the fight against corruption of the Republic of Croatia, the national security strategy of the Republic of Croatia, as well as announcements from USKOK (Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime) and DORH (State Attorney’s Office). The results have shown that in Croatia, a deviant social structure predominates, simultaneously indicating the presence of political influences and a reduction in professionalism in institutions. The political elite has the highest degree of power in society, and corruption is the instrument of power. The paper, through analysis, pointed out the normative character of anti-corruption in Croatia and the lack of empirical character in combating corruption, especially due to the lack of securitization of political corruption. In addition, the connection between political corruption as a security issue and the authorities as securitizers was problematized. This paper seeks to raise awareness of the importance of combating political corruption as a key factor in preserving the national security of the Republic of Croatia and the challenges in the process of securitization.
Ključne riječi
corruption; political corruption; national security; securitization; anti-corruption
Hrčak ID:
323294
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.2.2025.
Posjeta: 0 *